


The Fall of the Titans

by EpicNerd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Swears, Angry Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Angst, Angst and Feels, Bitter Adrien, Character Death, Dead Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Depressed Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Grieving Adrien, Heavy Angst, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Swearing, Vengeful Adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28810554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd
Summary: The era of the Ladybug has come to an end.
Kudos: 25





	1. Ladybug

Leaping across the rooftops of Paris, Chat Noir's heart soared with the rest of his body. He had just finished patrol with Ladybug and they had sat together on top of the Eiffel Tower. It was a cold night and she had scooted as close to Chat as she thought she could without him noticing. But he did notice. And he loved every second of it.

'I'm slowly winning your heart, M'lady!' he thought happily to himself as he bounded home.

Almost at the Agreste Mansion, a glowing light in the otherwise dark sky caught his attention. He glanced sideways to see a figure standing on the balcony of the Dupain-Cheng bakery that he oh-so loved to visit.

'Marinette's still up?'

Without even thinking about it, he stopped abruptly and bounded over to his favorite civilian.

"While it is a purrfect night, you should be asleep by now, Mari," he teases, smirking at his own play on words.

The baker's daughter rolls her eyes but doesn't turn her head away fast enough to hide her smile from Chat.

The superhero perches himself on the railing next to the girl and the two watch the stars for a moment.

"Ladybug and I were on patrol and she snuggled close to me for warmth!" he informs her, not knowing that she was there.

"Mhm…"

"What? Chat got your tongue?" he teases.

Marinette groans and faces away from the city.

"You've been chasing after Ladybug ever since you two first met and she hardly shows any affection in return. Don't you ever even think about giving up and moving on?" she asks, thinking more about her situation with Adrien than her relationship with Chat as a heroine.

"Not really. I know Ladybug and I are meant to be! And I think she's slowly realising it, too."

"Oh, yeah? What about the two of you as civilians? Are those two people destined for each other?" Marinette teases.

"Our masks don't define us. I'm still me under my disguise and Ladybug is too. I'm sure of it."

"Chat?"

"Yeah?"

"That was really cheesy."

"That's too bad."

"Why?"

"Because I'm lactose intolerant."

Marinette groans again and walks over to the skylight the leads down into her bedroom. She opens it and eases herself inside without saying anything.

"Aw, c'mon, Purrincess! I'm sorry!" Chat calls out, giggling.

The window opens again a crack and just her head pops out.

"No more puns?"

"Pawsitive."

The window locks and the lights in the room go out.

"You love my puns and you know it!" he calls out, chuckling.

"Good-Night!"

Still smirking, Chat extends his staff and pole-vaults the rest of the way home. Leaping in through his bedroom window, the superhero drops his transformation quietly.

"Plagg, claws in."

Absorbed in a neon green light, he is replaced by Adrien Agreste and Plagg the kwami when it fades.

"I'd say you've had a pretty good day today, Adrien," Plagg notes before scarfing down a slice of Camembert that had been presented to him.

"Today was awesome! The photoshoot went smoothly, Father let Nino come over for the first time since Christmas, and Ladybug and I cuddled on top of the Eiffel Tower!"

"Great! Now can we go to bed now?" the bad-luck kwami begged before yawning dramatically.

"That sounds heavenly."

* * *

Marinette woke up tangled in her blankets and almost fell out of bed trying to turn her alarm off.

"Ugh…"

"Didn't sleep well?" Tikki asks, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. Can I just take a nap instead of going to school today, Tikki?"

"Ha, ha! No, but you can have some coffee!" the kwami says cheerfully, trying to pep up her chosen.

Slowly crawling out of bed, Marinette makes it out of her room to brew some coffee before getting dressed.

Putting on her favorite outfit, she heads back downstairs right as her coffee finishes. Not really thinking, she takes a sip right away, burning her tongue. Leaping back, she lets go of the cup, which spills all over her shirt and runs down to her pants.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" she screams, trying desperately to get the hot coffee off of her.

As a slew of curse words run through her head, she grudgingly makes her way back upstairs to change.

"Marinette! You need to get going or else you're going to be late!" Sabine calls up to her daughter.

"Oh no! Not again!" she exclaims, clutching the sides of her head as her eyes grow wide.

Throwing on clothes nearest to her, she runs out of the bakery and to the school across the street.

"Can't be late! Can't be late! Can't be late!" she repeats to herself as she runs up the stairs that lead into the school.

A bell sounds off, signifying that she is, indeed, late. Bursting through Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom door.

"I'm here! I'm...here…" she says, out of breath.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng! How nice of you to come in late and draw attention away from the class. I'm sure Mr. Damocles will want a visit from you too! Principal's office! Now!" the teacher exclaims, pointing at the door.

Marinette sighs in defeat before turning back around and trudging off to the principal to get a tardy slip. As she walks down the hallway, she stares down at her feet, finally noticing that she's wearing…

'My pajama bottoms! I can't be at school in this! Adrien can't see me in these! I have to go home quickly and-'

"Ah, Marinette. Come to collect another tardy slip?" Damocles asks with a sigh and a tired expression.

"I, uh, um, you see...uh, yeah…" she stammers.

"I'm going to have to give you an after-school detention for this, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he reprimands.

"I know, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Take this and get back to class, young lady."

"Yes sir."

Quietly reentering the science lab and silently taking her seat, Marinette puts her head down without even mumbling "hello" to her best friend, Alya.

Class goes by without another disturbance and everyone makes their way to the cafeteria.

"What's up with you today, girl? You show up late AND in your pajamas?" Alya inquires, the reporter side of her leaking through.

"It's as if I ran under a ladder with an open umbrella indoors while holding a black cat, Alya! Not even the Irish could help me have a good day…" the teen pouts.

"Well...I know what could cheer you up!" the blogger says, smiling mischievously.

"What?" Marinette asks.

"Yo, Adrien! Nino, Marinette, and I are going to get Andre's ice cream this evening! You in?" Alya hollers to where Adrien was.

"I'll have to run it by my father first but sure! Sounds like fun!" Adrien says, smiling.

"See? Now you're going to eat Andre's match-making ice cream with Adrien! Am I the bestest of friends or what?"

With no response, Alya looks over to see Marinette asleep with her face buried in her salad.

"Eh, I'll tell you later!"

* * *

That afternoon, Marinette was frantically doing her homework so that she could go out with her friends. The late start due to the after-school detention and the scolding from her parents didn't help with her time-crunch.

"Done! Finally! Tikki, let's-!"

Cut off by her phone going off, she reaches across her desk to answer it.

"Hey, Alya! I was just about to head out and meet up with you guys!"

"Change of plans, girl. An akuma just popped up and he looks so cool. He's wearing a blood-red robe with a hood and is wielding black scythe! He calls himself Mortel and is totally kicking Chat Noir's butt! Ladybug hasn't showed up yet but you need to see this! We're by the Louvre!" Alya says before hanging up so that she could record the battle.

"Ugh, why today of all days? Tikki, spots on!"

Marinette is absorbed in a pink light and Ladybug stands in her place when it fades. The heroine jumps up onto the bed and opens the skylight. Jumping out into the world, she flung her yo-yo and flies off in the direction of Paris's famous art museum. Coming upon the scene of Chat and Mortel dueling, she watches from afar for a moment, trying to gauge where the akumatized object is.

'The brooch holding his robe in place!' she realizes before swinging into action.

"Chat Noir! The akuma! It's in his brooch!" she yells to her partner, effectively also grabbing the attention of Mortel.

"Your miraculous is mine, Ladybug!" he snarls before lunging, his scythe poised.

"Cataclysm!" Chat yells.

The three battle it out for several minutes before Chat tries to grab the brooch with his right hand. Missing, his hand hits a light pole, disintegrating it.

"M'lady! I'm gonna transform back in a few minutes!"

"Go! I can keep Mortel busy while you're gone!"

Chat runs off and dives into a, thankfully, empty dumpster outside of a restaurant. Dropping his transformation, Adrien reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a slice of cheese.

"Eat up, buddy! Ladybug needs us!"

Scarfing down the Camembert, the kwami rubs his stomach in content.

"Plagg! Claws out!"

Back in the superhero clad, Chat jumps out of the dumpster and pole-vaults to Mortel and...Chat returned just in time to see the end.

She had tried to reach for the brooch, but she was just a millisecond too slow

"No!" he yelled, his voice bouncing off of the nearby buildings, making it sound like a thousand voices had screamed out in agony.

Ladybug let out a short gasp as the scythe rips through her midsection. She fell to the ground and the world comes to a standstill. Chat leaps towards his partner and love of his life, not even caring if Mortel struck him down too. But the akuma and even Hawkmoth are stunned into stillness. Chat drops to his knees as he slides up to Ladybug. His eyes grow wide as he sees how much blood there already is. Without warning, her miraculous gives out to reveal Tikki and...

"Marinette?" Chat whispers, suddenly unable to move.

'This isn't happening! This isn't happening! This is not happening!'

The superhero cradles the dying girl in his hands, his body not letting him do anything else.

'Move!' Chat screamed at himself in his mind repeatedly.

Finally snapping out of it, he quickly scoops up Marinette before he glares at Mortel, baring his teeth.

"If you so much as blink before I get back, then may God have mercy on you. Because I sure as hell won't!" he yells, venom dripping from his voice.

He jumps up onto a light pole before leaping onto a nearby rooftop. Sprinting across the topside of Paris with Tikki soaring beside him, Chat desperately looked for the nearest medical facility while trying to keep Marinette from bleeding out. Finally finding an emergency room, he leaps to the ground and bursts into the hospital.

"Someone! Please! Help!" he exclaims.

Several nurses and doctors rush to their aid and Chat's body goes numb when he has to place her on a gurney and step back.

"Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, 14 years old but she's almost 15, she's lost a lot of blood!" Chat rambles, spilling as much information as he can to the doctors in the hope that it'll help save her.

When they reach the operating room, a doctor stops Chat from going in with them.

"You've saved her up until now, Chat Noir. Let us do the rest," she said calmly before turning around to enter the room as she puts on her scrubs.

"Please...save her…" he calls out weakly, his ears drooping as his eyes grow sorrowful.

Looking down at his feet, he notices how much blood Marinette had lost and spilt onto him. His suit is as red as hers was.

Feeling like he was going to vomit, he ran into the nearest storage closet and dropped his transformation. Plagg and Tikki hover wordlessly in front of him as he slides to the floor in a heap. Tears stream from his eyes as he pulls his knees to his chest.

"I can't lose her, Plagg! I can't lose her!" he sobs, his entire body shaking now.

The kwamis flutter over to rest on his hair and try to console him.

"Ssh. I know, kid. I know," Plagg says, soothingly.

Adrien lies on the cold, hospital floor for half an hour, a puddle forming around his head until his tear ducts dry up and he physically can't cry anymore.

"What do I do?" he whimpers.

The kwamis' silence just clarifies what he had been thinking.

'There is nothing I can do…'

Sitting up abruptly, Adrien screams out in anguish as he kicks over a nearby metal table that falls over with a loud clang.

"I'm supposed to be a superhero, damnit! Everyone trusted me to protect the citizens of Paris and I couldn't even save one! What the hell am I even good for?!" he exclaims.

"Adrien, please!" Tikki starts, trying to calm down the boy.

"Shut up! You're a god, aren't you?! Why didn't you protect her?!"

"Adrien!" Plagg says, gritting his teeth now.

"What?!"

"You know that's not fair!"

"What part of this is fair?! She's dead! Ladybug's dead! Marinette's dead! And where does that leave me?"

"She's not dead!" Tikki exclaims, beginning to cry herself.

"No one can lose that much blood and survive!"

Adrien's about to say something else when he hears a door open and wheels roll by. Daring to leave the room of isolation, he opened the door slightly and peaked out into the hallway.

'Marinette!' he rejoices in his head.

He closes the door and stands up, rubbing the tear stains off of his cheeks. He opens the side of his shirt and the kwamis rush inside. Opening the door again, he eases himself into the hallway unnoticed and sneaks into the stairwell. He clambers down until he reaches the ground floor and bursts out into the rest of the world.

Gulping down as much fresh air as his lungs will allow, he runs around the side of the hospital and re-enters through the emergency-room doors. Tom and Sabine are sitting in chairs and hugging each other while Alya and Nino pace back and forth in the waiting room.

"It's all my fault, Nino! I had told her to come to the scene where the akuma was!" Alya mumbles without taking her eyes off the floor.

"Als, it's not your-Adrien! Dude! I've been calling and texting you for almost an hour!" Nino says when he notices the boy walking up to them.

'He looks like more of a wreck than Alya…'

"Sorry…" Adrien replies, not even able to make up an excuse as to why he had been MIA when his friends needed him most.

A doctor and nurse enter the room and Tom and Sabine stand up, fear and heartache in their eyes.

"Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng...we did all we could for the time being. If we had continued with the surgery with the state your daughter is in, most if not all of her systems would crash due to the trama."

"Can we see her?" Alya asks.

"Just family for now until Marinette is in a more stable condition. I'm sorry."

Tom and Sabine hurriedly follow the doctor and nurse to Marinette's hospital room, leaving the three friends alone. Without warning, Alya falls to her knees and begins sobbing. Nino holds her close and whispers in her ear.

"She's alive! Oh, my god! She's ok!" she exclaims, her voice shaky as a smile comes and goes on her face.

Adrien stares at the two for a moment before quietly leaving. Once back outside, he makes a break for it, transforming without stopping. Chat Noir jumps onto the rooftop and sprints towards where he had last seen Mortel. Unfortunately, the akuma had not obeyed and was still reeking havoc on the city of Paris. As promised, Chat gave no mercy when he found him. Anger surges through his veins as the fear that Marinette was already lost faded. Mortel would pay for what he had done to Ladybug, Chat would make sure of that. A side of him surfaced that evening that he later hoped nobody would see again.

* * *

It's been 14 agonizing hours since it happened. No one dared to say a word in class. Not even Ms. Bustier could bring herself to look up from her desk. She would only see the empty seat.

_After Mortel had been...dealt with...Chat went back to the hospital and extended his staff until he was level with the window to Marinette's hospital room. He watched silently as Tom and Sabine cried at their daughter's bedside. He stayed long after the sun went down and the lights in the hospital room had been turned off for the night. He stayed until his transformation was about to release and went home. He didn't talk to Plagg or Tikki in favor of getting in the shower and letting the hot water attempt to wash the day away. Sleep was out of the question._

Alya's sitting in Adrien's spot, being consoled by Nino, so Adrien sits in her spot. Though he could see his best friend in front of him, Adrien felt alone. He didn't mind, though. He was used to being alone when he was sad.

Even though only one student was missing, the classroom felt empty.

Ms. Bustier let everyone out early on a promise that they would be quiet in the hall, but no one left, not even Chloe.

Alya begins crying again and the class comforts her while Adrien shuffles out, not being able to take it anymore.

"The hospital please," the model tells his personal driver as he slips into the backseat of the car.

Thankfully, he's allowed up to her room today and is guided by Marinette's doctor up to the third floor and the sixth door on the left. He enters the hospital room and quietly closes the door behind him before setting his school bag down on a chair.

"Hey Marinette," Adrien croaks before pulling back his shirt, letting the kwamis out since they wouldn't show up on the surveillance cameras anyway.

Her only response is the steady beat of the heart monitor. Adrien sits down next to her bed and takes her hand in both of his. The room is silent for a few moments with Adrien stuck trying to think of what to say. Each tick of the clock was ear-piercing for Adrien. How dare the seconds go by when the world has stopped...

"I'm so sorry, Bugaboo. I wasn't there when you needed me most. I couldn't protect you!" the boy finally whispers, tears beginning to flow down his face.

Tikki rests on top of Marinette's forehead while Plagg tries to comfort his chosen. Adrien brings her hand to his cheek, shuddering at how cold it is.

"Marinette, please, wake up," he begs, his voice cracking.

But she doesn't. Not the next day or even the following one. Doctors try to perform surgery again but quit immediately after they had to restart her heart.

But everyday, he comes back with the kwamis and stay by her side until the staff forces him to leave. Tom and Sabine are there too as much as they can but Mrs. Cheng usually has to leave early when she loses it over the sight of her daughter on death's bed.

Marinette's skin is pale and her hair unkempt. If it weren't for the heart monitor and the slightest rising and falling of her chest, you would think that she was already dead. Adrien couldn't stand that. It's impossible to comprehend that the girl before him was the same bubbly...lively...Marinette that he has been going to school with for almost two years.

"The best two years of my life…" he whispered to her at one point.

* * *

It's been 18 restless days since it happened. The young Agreste has gone back to homeschool so that he can stay by Marinette's side as long as possible without falling behind. Nathalie and Gabriel have begged and pleaded for him to come home, but he refuses each time and just snaps at them.

The only time he leaves Marinette's bedside anymore is if he has to use the restroom or if Paris needs Chat Noir.

Hawkmoth was ever so kind as to let him have two days to grieve for his partner before he made his next move. And he was relentless. While he mostly had akumas come after him, sometimes the target would be Marinette since no one took away her miraculous. Of course, Chat Noir has been more aggressive too. He also had the help of Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace. During akuma battles, they perfectly balances fighting with figuring out Hawkmoth's location. Chat destroys the released akumas with his cataclysm that had failed him before. Anybody who stands or stood in his path: they're going to pay.

"Where are you!" he would yell to the skies.

But there was never a response. Instead, the akumas would just fight harder. And that was exactly what he needed. He struck blow after blow with every ounce of energy he could muster and then some.

He never stayed after the akuma was destroyed. If he did, the team would try to talk to him.

"Ladybug is going to be okay."

"Chat, please talk to us."

"Dude, you don't have to be aggressive."

Then again, they might not try to speak to him after their last attempt. He had screamed at them with fire in his eyes and venom in his voice.

"Shut up! All of you! Ladybug's not okay! We're her team, aren't we?! Yet she's on death's bed while we're all handy-dandy!"

Of course, he knew it wasn't fair to think that they're partially to blame. They couldn't have protected her. They didn't have access to their miraculouses full-time like they do now. Not like how he always has. It's not their fault. It's not Tikki's fault. It's not even the cataclysm's fault. No, this is all on him. He was sure of it.

Finally, he was able to use an akuma to his advantage and have it lead him to Hawkmoth's lair, not even noticing where it was. He crashes through the window into the dark room with the butterflies and the main villain himself.

"What the-?!"

But he was on the ground before he could finish his exclamation and Chat Noir was on his chest, preventing him from escaping.

"End of the line, Hawkmoth! Time to reveal who you are so that you can be brought to justice!"

"My, my! Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat?" Hawkmoth taunts before launching him off and jumping up.

He unsheathes his sword from his staff and points it at the superhero. Instead of hesitating, Chat grins as his eyes narrow.

"You picked a fight with the wrong alley cat!"

The two spar off with everything they got. But in the end, Chat Noir has more to fight for, more to die for. He disarms Hawkmoth within minutes and stops his staff just before it goes through the villain like the scythe had gone through her. Instead of making some sort of pun or snide comment, he just stares at Hawkmoth with such an intense anger.

"What? Chat got your tongue?" the villain taunts.

The superhero just breathes heavily in response, pure hatred in his eyes.

"I will destroy you when you least expect it."

"I don't think you'll get very far without this," Chat says grimly as he removes Hawkmoth's miraculous.

He stands back as the villain's transformation drops to reveal Gabriel Agreste. Chat's eyes grow wide and his pupils shrink to the size of a needle.

"No...it can't be!"

Overcome by anger, he tackles the fashion designer with enough force to almost knock him out. But luck was not on his side with a black cat against him. Chat delivers blow after blow to Gabriel's face.

"How could you?! How could you?!" he screams in his father's face as tears stream down his own.

He only stops when he sees that his father is finally unconscious, his face bruised and bleeding by his hands. He stands up and looms over the man before he drags him over to the window. He pockets the miraculous before scooping him up and jumping out into Paris, the hospital being his destination.

"Chat Noir!"

"Is that…?"

"Gabriel Agreste?"

The superhero ignores the civilians' and staff's questions.

"Set Mr. Agreste up in the best room you have and alert the police. I'm sure they'll be relieved to hear my statements," he says with an authoritarian voice that was so much like his father's.

"What do you mean?" a nurse asks.

"It's over. It's finally over."

* * *

It's been 6 weeks since it happened and Adrien lays at Marinette's bedside once again, wearing both the cat and butterfly miraculouses. As soon as Gabriel Agreste recovered, he would be transported to a high-security prison until his trial was held. After Chat had given the police his statements, he announced that Ladybug and Chat Noir were officially retired, not being able to speak for the rest of the team. Now all his focus could be on his Marinette.

"Why isn't there some sort of update? It's been weeks!" Adrien exclaims to Marinette's doctor.

"Mr. Agreste: please calm down! We're doing everything we can to make sure that she's okay!"

"But she's not okay! I don't care if she's stable! Just take her into surgery! Do something besides sitting with your hands in your lap!"

"We cannot do that, Adrien. The risk is too high!" the doctor tries to explain.

Adrien slams his fists down on the side table, making the glass of water shake.

"I don't care! Do it anyway! Bring her back!" he yells, tears threatening to blind him if he doesn't let them fall.

"You are in no position to make that call and if you don't calm down, then I will have you permanently removed from the premises!" the doctor yells back, tired of Adrien's outbursts.

The teen glares at the doctor before there's a knock at the door. The two turn as Sabine and Tom enter the room with miserable expressions, a dark cloud looming over them.

"We've made a decision, Doctor," Tom says, choking back a sob.

"What?" Adrien whispers to himself, eyes darting between the three adults.

"We want you to…" Sabine continues before she pauses, tears painting her cheeks.

"Go ahead with...it," Tom finishes before his wife buries her face in his shirt.

The doctor sighs before he takes off his glasses and rubbed his eyelids.

"What's going on?" Adrien asks.

"I'll need you to fill out all of the paperwork before we may proceed," the doctor says calmly, reassuringly.

"What's going on?" Adrien repeats, louder this time, afraid that he may regret asking but regret it even more if he didn't.

The adults ignore him and all leave the room, closing the door, to fill out the paperwork and discuss the details in the hallway. Adrien rushes over the door and puts his ear to it and closes his eyes, trying as hard as he can to listen.

"...before we...please acknowledge...Marinette...is best...end her life support…"

Adrien stumbles back away from the door and falls onto the floor.

"They're going to…"

He springs up onto his feet and whips the door open.

"No! You can't give up on her! She's your daughter! There's still a chance if they just take her into surgery!" he bellows, enraged that anyone dared to try to take Marinette away.

"Adrien, please!" Sabine begs.

"Go home, son," Tom says solemnly.

"No! I'm not leaving her!" Adrien yells before darting back into the room and locking the door behind him.

"Adrien! Adrien!" he hears them all yell from behind the door but he does not let them in.

He rushes back to Marinette's side with desperation in his eyes.

"You can't die, Princess! I need you! I love you!" he says, praying to any god that would answer his pleas to let Marinette hear his words.

"Please!" he yells to the teen in a coma.

He brushes her bangs out of her face and cups her cheek in his hand. Tears stream down his face now with no chance of stopping soon.

"Wake up, dammit! Wake up!" he pleads.

He leans closer and kisses her as if her lips were his life support.

"Wake up! Please, Marinette!"

He kisses her again. And again. And again. He pulls back each time and looks at her, hoping that her eyes will finally flutter open. The banging on the door persists and Adrien wishes that he could will the rest of the universe away.

"Please…" he says, his voice shaky as he chokes.

He buries his face in the bed sheets and holds her hand. It's always so cold no matter how long he holds it.

"Adrien, please, let us in!" Sabine begs from the hallway.

"No! You're going to kill her! How could you give up on your own daughter?!" he screams back.

Security finally arrives and unlocks the door. The doctor, Tom and Sabine, and two security guards enter the room. Adrien wraps his arms around Marinette and pulls her closer to him.

"No! Get away!"

The guards pull him off of her and began dragging him out of the room. Adrien kicks and yells incoherently and tries to elbow his way out of their hold.

"No! Let me go! Marinette! Marinette!" he screams desperately.

"Adrien?" Marinette's weak voice calls out.

"Marinette!" Adrien exclaims before breaking free of the guards' hold and rushing to her bedside.

The teen's eyes flutter open and she gives the smallest smile. He leans down and takes her head in both of his arms and presses his forehead to hers.

"Thank god you're ok! I thought I was going to lose you!" Adrien whispers to her as he tries to control his tears, "I love you, Marinette! And I'm never letting you go again!"

The model pulls back for a second to look into her beautiful bluebell eyes before he kisses her softly, relief flooding over him. Tom and Sabine move to their daughter's side, pushing Adrien away.

"I...better go call Alya and Nino!" Adrien says after a moment of hesitation, not really wanting to not be able to see Marinette.

The guards stand to the side and Adrien opens the door. He takes one step out into the hallway when something makes him stop abruptly. Everyone turns and stares at the heart monitor, which has become a continuous straight, red line as a monotone sound rings throughout the room.

"Marinette?" Adrien whispers, unable to breathe right.

He slowly approaches the hospital bed again as Tom and Sabine began to sob loudly.

"Marinette?" Adrien repeats, even quieter than before.

He falls to his knees and buries his face in his hands. His chest heaves as he sobs for the loss of his friend, his partner, the love of his life. The doctor quietly moves across the room and turns the monitor off before he pulls the bed sheets up to cover her face. Adrien begins shaking from head-to-toe, wracked with grief.

"DAMMIT!" he screams at the top of his lungs as he slams his fists against the ground.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is dead.

* * *

All of Paris attended the funeral, yet not a single word was uttered by anyone. Adrien stood beside Nino, who was holding Alya in an embrace as she cried out for her best friend. Adrien doesn't look anyone in the eye and doesn't move until they start lowering the casket into Paris's savior's final resting place. Before the servicemen pick up their shovels, Adrien stepped over and got down on his knees. He places the rose that he had been holding through the service on the casket. In small groups, Paris leaves the graveyard quietly as it begins to rain. After an hour, only Tom, Sabine, and Adrien remain.

"Take care, son," Tom says as he pats Adrien's shoulder before he and Sabine leave.

Adrien sits down next to her grave and moves the umbrella over her tombstone.

"Remember when I first gave you this umbrella, Mari?" he chokes.

Master Fu approaches from behind the tree that he had been watching the funeral from.

"Hello, Chat Noir."

Adrien stares up at Fu for a moment before rubbing his eyes.

"You're here for these, aren't you?" he says, holding out his and Marinette's miraculouses.

"Yes," Fu says hesitantly, "With Hawkmoth defeated, there is no reason for the two most powerful miraculouses to be out and about. I will also be leaving Paris to return to China."

"You never should have given those to us. Now she's dead."

"I'm sorry, Adrien."

"Unless it can bring her back: keep your sorries to yourself."

"I hope you can find happiness again," Fu says before walking away with the ring and earrings that had made Adrien and Marinette superheroes.

"I know where my happiness is. It's six feet under."

Adrien stayed in the cemetery all night and into the morning. Nathalie and Gorilla picked him up and carried him home while not waking the boy.

When Adrien did wake up, around noon the next day, he was surprised to see that he was in his bed again. He hadn't been home in weeks. He feels something in his pocket and pulls the object out to look at the butterfly miraculous. He had forgotten to give it to Master Fu the previous day. He holds on to it as he leaves his bedroom. He goes down the stairs silently, looking at his feet.

He enters his father's office and walks up to the painting of his mother. Gabriel had already confessed how to get into Hawkmoth's lair but Adrien said that he wanted to go in there before anyone else. He walks around the dark, empty room; the butterflies having flown out of the broken window long before. Adrien walks over to a small table with a few papers on it.

There were four in total. One about the butterfly miraculous, one about the ladybug miraculous, one about the cat miraculous, and one that got his attention. The paper explained what would happen if someone was the holder of both the ladybug and cat miraculous. Adrien hesitantly puts the brooch on, making Nooroo appear before him.

"Is this what my father was trying to achieve?"

"Yes. He pursued the miraculouses in the hope of bringing back his wife, your mother."

Adrien stared down for a moment, lost in thought with his eyebrows furrowed.

"...None of this would've happened if Mom was alive. Father wouldn't have become Hawkmoth, Marinette and I wouldn't have had to become Ladybug and Chat Noir, and she'd still be alive.

"Adrien…"

"You will call me Master from now on, Nooroo!"

"...Yes...Master."

"Now...let's see if I can succeed where Gabriel failed."

Adrien folds the papers and puts them in his shirt pocket before he leaves the room. Back in his father's office, he finds Nathalie on the phone, undoubtedly talking to another reporter.

"Nathalie, I want to relocate to Beijing, China. There is nothing left for me here in Paris."

"As you wish."

'I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Plagg. I'm sorry, Marinette. I'm sorry. But I have to do this until I find Fu and he hands over the miraculouses…' Adrien thinks to himself with a sorrowful expression.

"Are you okay, Adrien?"

Adrien opens his eyes and looks at his assistant by his side. Taking a deep breath, he nods his head solemnly and looks to his kwami.

"Nooroo, dark wings rise."


	2. Chat Noir

_ One word rang through his head over and over and over again: "empty". _

Adrien Agreste, the perfect boy on the outside with a facade of a perfect life to go with it, didn't leave his house, nor did he ever make his presence known in China. He knew where Fu was, but had no way of going there without meeting superb defense. One year has passed since she died, and Adrien was still grieving. He was still so...angry. His father was in prison back in Paris, his mother was officially confirmed dead, and the teen hasn't talked to any of his old friends in months. He missed Nino, he missed Alya, he missed Chloe and Kagami and Luka and everyone else. But, he missed her the most. She was the only reason that he stayed in China, stayed angry.

He had them. He had them! He had both miraculouses in his pocket, and he gave them back! If he had just known that he could've made his wish, that he could've brought her back to him, he would've; a thousand times over. He wouldn't wish to have her back, no, no.

When Adrien gets the miraculouses, he's going to wish that the Temple that he's been observing for almost a year was never destroyed by Feast, the amok created by Fu himself. If the Temple was never destroyed, then Fu would never have run off with the Miracle Box, never would have lost the Peacock and Butterfly miraculouses. Then, his mother and father would never have found them while visiting Tibet, his mother would never have been affected by the broken Peacock, his father would never have become Hawkmoth, Paris would never have needed the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses, and then Marinette-!

Adrien could never breathe right whenever he thought about her. Once...once Nathalie made the mistake of mentioning her by name, and Adrien had to eject himself from the room so that he wouldn't take his anger out on his assistant. After that day, the two always referred to her as their 'mission'.

Nathalie was good, dedicated, and Adrien was glad that she was still on his side. He's not an idiot; he knows that he's now the villain. Though he hasn't done anything yet, once he uses the miraculouses with malicious intent for personal gain, he knows he will be no better than the monster grief made of his father. Funny how history repeats itself, isn't it?

"Nooroo."

"Yes, Master?" the kwami asked, looking exhausted despite a lack of use for months.

"Tell me again what all you remember from the Temple of the Guardians," Adrien commanded, not looking up from the pictures his father had taken of the Miraculous Book still in Parisian's Police custody.

"The Temple of the Guardians is a large campus that houses dozens of guardians, Miracle Boxes, and texts depicting previous Miraculous Holders and tells the stories of Old. For over a century, the Temple, along with everything in it, was mysteriously missing without a trace. That is, until it made a sudden reappearance not long ago as if nothing had happened."

"And tell me the powers of combining the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses."

"When the two combine, the holder can make any wish they want; whether it be something simple like being somewhere else or bringing back the dead. But, there is always a price. I believe humanity has dubbed the term: an eye for an eye."

"So, if I were to wish that an event never happened, what would be the consequences?"

"Master? Why are you asking all of this?"

"Tell me, Nooroo!" Adrien bellowed, his voice echoing off the barren walls.

"While it's never been done before, I would assume something similar to the erased event would still happen, but either to someone else, at a different place, or at a different time."

"I want the love of my life back, Nooroo. Any price to pay is worth it."

"Adrien," Nathalie greets, walking into the room with her own tablet clutched to her chest, "it's time to go."

At that, a conniving smile was etched onto Adrien's face as he stood up.

"Good; I was done waiting."

Adrien stands up, stroking the brooch below his neck.

"Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

Every single time he transforms into Papillion, he thinks of Plagg; he thinks of being Chat Noir. He thinks of being able to escape his lonesome home, of being able to fight side-by-side with the love of his life. Things were so much simpler a year ago; he had a class full of friends, his father wasn't a maniac that terrorized everyone in Paris almost daily, and she wasn't dea-.

None of that matters now; it would all be undone very soon. Papillion rubbed his wrist where both his and her charm bracelets were whenever he wasn't using his own miraculous. He never took them off, never. Green and pink, orange and blue, red and black, green and black; their colors that have almost all faded. No more Ladybug, no more Chat Noir, no more Marinette.

A lump formed in his throat, and tears pricked his eyes. He leaves his house for the first time in months, the Temple being his destination. The area was divided into five main sections, and the night would disguise him as he silently entered undetected. This trip, he would take nothing, leave nothing to clue others in on his presence. No, this was just for information. Figure out how many people are in any given place at any time, calculate when they move, and remember where things are. If everything went right, then, at two in the morning, Papillion would slip out unnoticed with all the information he needed to come back and take what Adrien never should have given up.

Upon crossing the snow-covered valleys of Tibet and arriving at the temple, Papillion started exploring the West houses before he would move on to the East and then to the large temple in the middle. He had 15 minutes for each of the dozen buildings surrounding the largest temple, and the last hour would be spent exploring and mapping the largest temple, where the Miracle Box that he needed most-likely resided.

'Be silent. Be unseen. Be ready.'

Papillion quickly realized that the outer buildings were sleeping and living quarters for the monks, and his job became much more difficult as the number of residents kept increasing.

'If an alarm was ever sound, I couldn't possibly take on everyone in this temple alone. Are they the same in the others? How many monks are there?'

He moved on, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. His miraculous's weapon, a sword, was poised at the ready. He was tired. He was alert. He was angry. He was sad. This felt wrong. This felt necessary. He wasn't Adrien, he was Papillion; someone very different from the boy he was a year ago.

Ten minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, one hour; time to go. Now he had an hour to memorize everything in the large temple, and then he had to leave whether he was done or not. He moved in zig-zags, committing as much as he could to memory. As he moved closer to the heart of the Temple, he realized that such a feat of reclaiming the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses would be harder than they anticipated as multiple Miracle Boxes lined shelves built in the walls. He might have to come back again just to go through them all, and that made Papillion mad. He wanted to check the boxes now, but knew that he couldn't stray from the plan.

With five minutes to spare, Papillion reaches the end of the Temple, and the masked boy runs back out into the snow, his feet hardly making any crunches as he trod as light as he could while still moving out as fast as possible while making sure that he wasn't being followed. Back through the valleys, back through the streets, up to the small house upon a once-abandoned hill. Secluded and easy to gloss over; the house was perfect to Adrien.

Papillion closed the door behind him, activating all three of the locks and the security alarm. He drops his transformation, and Nathalie walks out of the kitchen with tea for the both of them. Gorilla was still asleep, oblivious to what he had been doing and what she knew. Adrien felt bad about having to lie to him, but the less people who knew, the better.

"Monks in the outre buildings; three in each, no beds unchecked for. The number of empty beds lines up with the number of monks out and about. That means that, with three to a house and six houses surrounding the main temple, there should be 30 monks here, which lines up with what Nooroo said."

"I really wish you had let me go with you, Adrien. I can handle using the peacock miraculous," Nathalie said, her tone on the border of begging.

Adrien hums in response, thinking faster than he could ever hope to properly convey. He didn't need to think about it. He let her use the miraculous once and she showed the same effects as his mother had shown before dying. Now he always wore the miraculous; unable to hurt the only family he has left. Though the fire was roaring on the logs, Adrien felt cold; a cold that the fire could never reach.

"The middle temple was frustrating to say the least," he says after a few moments of silence, his tea cup in his hands with no plans of being emptied.

"Are we sticking with our plan to raid tomorrow?"

"I'll think about it in the morning."

"I'm by your side no matter what," Nathalie says, holding eye-contact with Adrien to make sure he knew how much she meant it.

She loved Adrien as if he were her own son, and hated how his heart has been grieving for so long. He lost his mother, his father neglected him, and he lost her. She was completely with him in his plan to reverse the pinpoint that caused the chain of terrible events.

* * *

Nathalie and Gorilla were sound asleep, but Adrien was restless. He stared at the cork board in front of him that was filled with sketches of the temple, numbers, and possible offense strikes. But he didn't see them. He knew what he had to see. Nooroo knew what the boy was thinking.

"Master, with all due respect, it made you seriously ill the last time you used to peacock miraculous!" the butterfly kwami exclaimed.

The boy stared emptily into the fireplace, the flames dancing in front of his cold eyes. The warmth would never reach his soul until he had her back.

"I don't care, Nooroo. I miss her too much and I'd be restless all night anyways."

Adrien called upon Dusuu, transforming. Breathing through his mouth so that he won't sneeze, he begins forming a sentimonster from the orange-and-blue lucky charm that he had been so proud of and excited to give to his soulmate for her birthday.

It drains him, and it feels as if his chest is collapsing in on itself, but he's able to do it for the seventh time since he first thought to temporarily steal the Peacock Miraculous. Standing before him, an amok version of Marinette smiles back at him. Adrien couldn't breathe, and the strings of his heart were trying to pull him into a grave of his own.

"Hey," he said, his voice cracking as a lump in his throat tries to suffocate him and tears in his eyes blinded him.

He melted as he took her into his arms, his mind breaking all over again. She wasn't real, and part of him was always saying that. But another part of him just...needed to hold her, give reason to keep doing what he knows she would never forgive him for if she knew.

He hadn't cherished her enough, hadn't laughed with her enough, hadn't loved her enough. He hadn't played video games long enough with her, he hadn't tasted enough of her baking, and he hadn't modeled for enough of her hand-made pieces. Not enough hugs, not enough kisses, not enough "I love you"s. He couldn't fight by her side enough, couldn't have her back enough, and so he couldn't protect her enough. Everything, all of this, was his fault.

Adrien grit his teeth, his grip tightening around Amokinette, never able to hold her close enough. He began crying, pulling them both down to their knees as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She held him in return, rubbing small circles on his back. Racked with grief, Adrien had to bite down on his lower lip until it hurt so that he wouldn't cry out in emotional turmoil and agony.

His energy slipping with every minute that the amok existed, Adrien leaned back to look into her eyes, sparkling blue orbs gazing back at him with a smile only Marinette could give. He caressed her cheek, steeling himself from the instinct to kiss this mock version of the one so far away.

"Time to go," he said hoarsely, his voice barely audible.

Amokinette nodded in understanding, still smiling despite knowing what fate she was about to face.

Adrien could never bear to look at her when he recalled the feather that gave her life, and his chest would always shudder as he let out an undesired breath when it was over and he dropped his transformation, alone again every time.

He scooted back to lean against the sofa, pulling his knees to his chest. Running his hands through his hair, sobs were only at bay long enough for him to grab a pillow to throw his face into. The soft decor piece was quickly soaked, and Adrien never would have left it. But he did. Standing up with no will moving him, he entered his room and collapsed onto the bed, immediately falling into a sleep that will no-doubtedly be filled with nightmarish spins on the worst day of his life. Nooroo watched the son of his old master for a moment before steadily fluttering over to take Adrien's shoes off, placing them by the door in plain sight. Then, he floated back up to the head of the bed before settling down on an empty pillow, knowing that he needed to be nearby; the young Agreste would undoubtedly need the kwami to wake him up from his hellish nightly terrors.

* * *

In the morning, Adrien's eyes were puffy and red and dark semi-circles were under his eyes. Any sound hurt his ears, but he pushed himself out of bed nonetheless. Stepping in front of a mirror, he does his best to make himself presentable so that no one would worry.

Walking out into the main area, Nathalie and Gorilla were already awake, sipping coffee silently at the table. The boy couldn't stand coffee, hardly even the smell of it despite basically living in Camembert for years. Instead, he went to the cabinet to get a glass to fill with water. His body was made of lead as he was dehydrated to the point of slight trembling.

"Did you sleep well, Adrien?"

"Yes, Nathalie," he replied half-heartedly on command.

Gulping down the water as if it were to extinguish a fire inside of him, the boy quickly excused himself before stepping out the sliding glass door to sit on the cement steps of the patio in the sorry excuse for a backyard. Surrounded by trees, Adrien felt like a prince about to go on a quest to find the tower containing his princess. Fairy-tale endings made him scowl whenever he thought about them now. True love's kiss brings nothing back from the dead.

His leg began bouncing up and down impatiently, wishing it was night again already so that he could return to the temple to take what he needed. He glared at nothing on the ground, mentally running through the blueprints again.

'Expect for everything to go right; plan for everything going wrong.'

Overestimating the population of monks in the temple, in the event that every single one of them were to wake up and all charge at him and Mayura, she is to make an amok out of the closest object, providing a distraction for their escape. It didn't need to be strong and near-undefeatable, like Feast; it just needed to be big.

Adrien didn't feel like a teenager; he felt like he had already lived a thousand years. He didn't want to live another second when she couldn't. Even if, in the new reality, they never fall in love or even meet, it'd be okay. She'd be alive and that'd be enough.

"I will save you, Marinette," he breathed before choking back a sob, wrapping his arms around himself and digging his fingers into his shoulders, "I promise!"

A shaky breath escaped him before tears wet his cheeks, staining his jeans when the physical formation of his helplessness rolled off his chin.

His face scrunched up, and he tried to slowly breathe through his mouth. Squeezing his eyes shut and holding himself tighter, tremors resonated in his heart and echoed throughout his body.

It hurt to think, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to exist. It's maddening how cruel the world can be. How could serial killers and corrupted politicians go on with their lives when a selfless girl with a heart of gold died protecting those she loved and those she never knew? How? How is that fair?

"It's not fair!" Adrien whisper-yells at the sky that dared to shine.

"I know, Adrien," Nathalie said, stepping out of the house and sitting down next to him after closing the door, "but we'll fix this."

He sniffles, composing himself as he rubs his eyes.

"But what if we can't? What if-what if we fail? Then they're gone forever!"

The assistant gazed at him for a moment before encasing him in a hug, resting her chin on the top of his head.

"We'll succeed. I know it."

Adrien closed his eyes again, leaning into her embrace, finding comfort in the contact. But his mind quickly drifted back to the task at hand.

Mathematically, if they're right about the head-count, then he and Nathalie will each have to take down 18 if need be. Things will get very complicated really quickly if they are all skilled fighters, and Adrien is not foolish enough to underestimate his enemy.

"I'm so sorry you were forced to grow up, Adrien. I really did want you to be happy," Nathalie says sincerely.

"Thank you; I know. And I will be, once I'm able to make my wish."

* * *

Papillion stalked back and forth impatiently, waiting for Nathalie to show up as Mayura. They had agreed that they should do a head-count again, and Adrien had volunteered since it doesn't weaken him to be transformed. Now though, he wished that he had just been restless at home rather than in the snow. He had been pretty close about how many monks were in the temple. Something peculiar, however, was that a large room that was opened the previous night was locked tight, and there were many voices behind it, too muffled to discern or make wise of. He had a nervous feeling about what was in the room. Was the uncounted-for monk in there? Was someone else with him? Too many questions that he didn't have time to answer. Mayura was standing before him.

She drops her transformation, using one hand to hand the peacock miraculous back to him as they had discussed earlier, and using her other hand to take off the backpack around her shoulders. Within it, she pulled out a cage containing dozens of white butterflies. She opens the cage, and they all flutter out. Papillion summons one of them, and uses his powers to turn it into an akuma. Nathalie then pulled her tablet out from the backpack, and held that out to Papillion as well. However, he didn't take it. Holding eye-contact with her, he places the akuma on the tablet, corrupting it and bringing her under his control. Now, Catalyst stood before him.

It was her turn. She used her powers that he gave her to turn him into Scarlet-Papillion. Grinning, he corrupted all of the akumas. The plan could now be set into motion

The two silently enter the main temple followed by the akumas, seemingly undetected besides the one monk standing guard outside. That is, until the two come across four old men, all wearing miraculouses.

"We knew you'd come back," one of them said.

"Then you must also know that I'm not leaving this time without taking what is mine."

"We cannot let you take any miraculouses," another one said.

"So be it," Papillion replied, venom dripping from his voice, enraged that they were trying to stop him.

The teen snaps his fingers, and the akumas descend, feeding off of the timidation of the monks.

"I am Scarlet-Papillion, and you now are on my side in the game of chess."

"Yes, my king!" the monks exclaim, getting on their knees to bow in salute before transforming into red knights.

As one, the small unit move through the corridor, meeting double the amount of old men with miraculouses in the next hall. Repeat and again down another one with sixteen monks. Guilt was drowned by hatred and need to get what he desires, and soon Papillion, Catalyst, and their knights are standing in front of the doors to the locked room. Nerves creeped up and resides within him once again, tempting him to turn around and flee. But he couldn't. His feet wouldn't move, so his hands did instead, pushing the doors open. Through the barriers once locked, the last monk, Master Fu himself, that had previously been unaccounted for for that night stood before them and in front of-.

Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, Viperion, Pegasus, Ryuko, and King Monkey poised to attack, anger and sadness in their own eyes. He knew them. He knew all of them. They weren't old people that he could just write off because he had no memories of their humanity to put to their faces. But they, they were kids like him, his former allies, his former friends!

His eyes narrowed, tears glistening through his mask. He took his own stance and Catalyst followed upon registering his decision.

"Paris has missed you, dude," Carapace said, shifting his shield in his hand in front of him.

"Do classes still go on? Do people still walk down the streets, laughing and talking as if nothing had ever happened? Is the bakery still open? Does Jagged Stone still sing? Do the days go by without even a moment to assess what is missing?" Papillion asked in return, his nails digging into the palms of his hands that were balled into fists.

"Don't do this, please! I miss her, too, but this isn't right!" Rena Rouge pleaded.

"Please calm down and think this over," Viperion said soothingly, near-convincingly.

"Logically, there's no reason to keep fighting, Adrien!" Pegasus piped up.

"Papillion."

"What?" the horse-miraculous wearer asks in shock.

"My name. Is. Papillion."

"Adrien, snap out of it! This isn't cool!" King Monkey exclaimed, placing his own staff behind his neck and on his shoulders.

"Adrien is dead! He died with her!" Papillion retorted, his voice cracking as his cheeks flushed with rage.

"Pathetic," Ryuko said, glaring directly at him with cold eyes that needed no mask to be intimidating.

He couldn't look at her, and he turned his head, accidentally meeting the gaze of Queen Bee.

"You going to insult my suit?" he asks cockily, wanting to get a rise out of her since she wasn't saying anything.

"I'm disappointed in you, Adrien."

Shock vibrated through his body, sending a shiver up his spine. His lip curled down in a snarl, and he slightly and quickly swung his sword, flicking the blood off of it.

Baring his teeth, a guttural sound sounded in his throat.

"That's fine with me!"

Once again, Scarlet-Papillion commands his players into offense, sending them to attack the teens. The power of their miraculous give them superhuman strength and agility, and thus they were able to put up a fight. But they were no match. It was too easy; they were inexperienced, weaker, less-motivated. Still, his knights were knocked off the chessboard in only a matter of minutes. Scarlet-Papillion took this distraction to assess their fighting skills and techniques.

"Impressive, but now you must fight against a boy who has nothing to lose!"

He charges, taking advantage of them already being weak from fighting dozens of trained fighters. Plus, some had already used their special powers.

'They are on a time-limit now, and thus will act rashly.'

Scarlet-Papillion and Catalyst swung and took punches, tripped their foes and fell back themselves. The battle seemed like nothing would change until Catalyst freed the akuma from one of the monks. Scarlet-Papillion sensed this, and commanded the butterfly to go to one of the supposed champions. It got to Ryuko first, and she was powerless to fight against his control. 3 against 6; now it could get interesting.

The blonde leaped into the air, landing behind Viperion before he could react, plunging his sword into his side. The blue hero grunts, clutching onto the blade before collapsing, now red. Scarlet-Papillion turned and took down Pegasus next, eliminating the other most-powerful miraculous. King Monkey, well: it didn't take much to make the monkey fall from the tree.

Pausing only briefly, Scarlet-Papillion looked around as time slowed to a stand-still. Dozens of monks were either dying or already dead outside, his friends were either unconscious and in pain on the floor or fighting Catalyst and Ryukokuma, and Fu-!

Scarlet-Papillion charged at the short man that has lived through many generations, yelling as he swung his sword down. As he had predicted, Fu had used the miracle box to protect himself without thinking. Blade connected with wood, splitting it clean down the middle. Withdrawing his weapon, Papillion snatched the two miraculouses that were now falling through the air, the Ladybug earrings and Black Cat ring.

He put them both on, activating them and releasing the kwamis.

"Plagg!"

"Adrien?" both miniature gods exclaimed.

"What did you do?" Tikki asked, horror on her face.

"Marinette was the greatest girl I've ever known. She gave everything and expected nothing in return. Optimistic, joyful, caring, selfless; to not give everything to bring her back would be an insult to her!"

"Adrien, she's dead!" Rena Rouge exclaimed behind him.

Scarlet-Papillion turns around, seeing that Catalyst and Ryukokuma have the bee, fox, and turtle on the ground.

"You think I don't want her back more than anything? You think I wouldn't give everything just to be able to go back and save her? She was my best friend! I loved her like my sister! But she's gone," Rena continued, choking up.

"Take all of the miraculouses. Ryukokuma, take care of the last Guardian," Scarlet-Papillion orders, walking up to his old friends.

One by one, the masks fall away, revealing Chloé, Alya, and Nino.

"Please, Adrien, don't do this," the blonde begs, mascara smearing with the tears that painted her cheeks.

Staring into the eyes of the girl who had been his only friend for so long, something in him breaks. He looks down at his hands, covered with blood of strangers and friends alike, and he wanted to scream in horror at his actions. But, he sees from the corner of his eye that Alya and Nino are leaning into each other, holding each other's hand as fear resided in their eyes.

_ Mortel's scythe buried itself in the red fabric of Ladybug's costume, pulling a gasp from her lips. Pain bubbled up as a burning sensation erupted in her chest, but she could not scream out. All she could do as she realized that she was going to die was look fearfully at her killer. _

And then it was over with no one left to tell the tale of the fall of the Titans.


End file.
